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JESUS – NOT A NICE HIPPIE GURU The following (particularly the last paragraph) is not for those whose tender delicate snowflake feelings are easily hurt. Today’s Gospel reading for Daily Mass is the story of Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth, his hometown, as recorded in Luke 4:16-30. Our Blessed Lord spoke on Isaiah 61:1-2 at the local synagogue, likely the one he attended for worship on Sabbath days from his childhood onwards. As the reader may recall, that passage states the following: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,    because the Lord has anointed meto bring good tidings to the afflicted;    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim liberty to the captives,    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Our Lord then proceeds to tell the members of the synagogue that “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And Scripture states that “all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.” They then asked, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” Notice that they do not recognize Who Jesus’ real Father is, Joseph being His foster-father. Then Jesus spikes the conversation on their failure to recognize His true Father: “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Eli′jah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; and Eli′jah was sent to none of them but only to Zar′ephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow [1st Kings 17:8-16]. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Eli′sha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Na′aman the Syrian [2nd Kings 5].” The people of Jesus’ hometown failed to recognize Who He really is. And Jesus incited them into their angry outburst where they might throw Him headlong to His death off the hill on which Nazareth was built. Jesus didn’t do the nice-nice, luvy-duvy, hippie, dippie, yippie, “we’re all gettin’ to heaven” BS. He told the people with whom He had grown up as a youth that God came to the rejected – a Gentile widow and a pagan general – and not to those who thought themselves chosen. Jesus was NO liberal progressive interested in dialogue and accompaniment. Indeed, this passage of Sacred Scripture says, “But passing through the midst of them he went away.” Do you care about downtrodden and abused women like the widow at Zarephath? Then stop being a useless, worthless feminist! Do you care about the injured and the sick like Naaman the leper? Then stop being afraid someone might give you COVID-19 if you show some human kindness and decency toward them. Instead, DO what Elijah and Elisha did. Get your hands dirty doing the Lord’s work. Love your neighbor as yourself. Otherwise, the Lord’s response will be exactly what He gave to His own townspeople.